Egypt's opposition parties have become so fixated on campaigning against the succession of President Mubarak's son that they are losing sight of other issues crucial to their political future, Amr Hamzawy of the Carnegie Middle East Centre says in an article for The National:

While opposition forces have been exclusively focused on the one issue – Gamal Mubarak’s possible ascendancy – the Egyptian regime has been carefully creating an environment which will sustain its rule. The ruling elite is no newcomer to this game. They have consistently manipulated the political process by preventing the opposition from registering candidates in elections, obstructing the campaign process, and fomenting violence on election day.

In contrast to the ruling elite’s clear direction, the opposition has no guiding compass and is left wandering through the challenges posed by the political agenda in Egypt. Their failure cannot be solely attributed to the regime’s repressive measures – a great part of the responsibility belongs to the opposition parties themselves.

Egyptians, he says, "are in desperate need of competent political parties" but the opposition is failing in several important areas.

The Muslim Brotherhood, despite winning an unprecedented 88 parliamentary seats in 2005, "has yet to push for serious reform of the political system", he says, and there are unresolved concerns about its positions "on equal citizenship rights for Copts and Muslims, women’s participation in politics and freedom of expression".

He suggests three key priorities for the opposition parties:

1. To clarify their stance on the question of domestic and international monitoring of elections.

2. To prioritise calls for abolition of the emergency law.

3. To become "more attuned to new political opportunities, expanding grassroots activities to capitalise on growing protest sentiment among wide segments of the population who are suffering from deteriorating social and economic conditions".

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 8 December 2009.